This piece is for concept art for a game I am going to produce. More about that on my blog.
I used PhotoShop to produce this using photo reference of tigers and Smilodon (Sabre-Toothed cats).
If I was to recreate this I would use a harder brush to get more detail. Or at least get a more painted look.
The concept behind this creature was the game world has prehistoric and mythical creatures living in different time periods.